Locals have lots of love for Castro

City Council member Diego Bernal, left, speaks Wednesday afternoon Aug. 15, 2012 during a meeting of the City Council's Governance Committee before voting infavor of a proposed payday lending ordinance.

Photo By Express-News file photo

Incumbent Ivy Taylor easily defended her seat in District 2 with 85.32 percent of the vote.

Photo By KIN MAN HUI/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Newly appointed District 3 Councilwoman Leticia Ozuna addresses the media after the City Council unanimously selected her for the position Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012.

Photo By Tom Reel/Express-News

Rey Saldaña thanks supporters at the Southside YMCA on Southcross on Saturday, May 14, 2011.

A cadre of Mayor Julián Castro's friends, family and supporters will converge today and Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., to cheer him on as he delivers the most significant speech of his still young political career.

Castro will take the stage on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention to present the keynote address — making history as the first Latino to do so.

And when he looks out into the crowd, he'll see plenty of familiar faces.

Bernal has long known the mayor and his twin brother, Joaquín, and wanted to see them on the national stage.

“Julián's been my friend since I was about 10 or 11 years old. For me, remembering the two twins I met at Tafolla Middle School — it's very personal,” he said. “It's an achievement.”

Joaquín Castro is a rising star in his own right. A Texas lawmaker, he's campaigning for a seat in Congress and has already been out on the campaign trail for President Barack Obama. Introducing his brother on Tuesday might seem like déjà vu. Earlier this year, Joaquín introduced Julián to the Texas Democratic Convention in Houston.

For Bernal, there's no avoiding the political significance of the evening, but he decided to make the whirlwind trip to Charlotte for a different reason.

“Julián is one of my best friends. I've known him since I was a teenager. I've seen him when he was an intern at City Hall when I was still working for (then-Mayor) Ed Garza in 1997. And I had the privilege of running his campaign when he was running for mayor in '05. Even though we were unsuccessful, it was a great ride that he and I took together,” Cortez said. “To be able to see one of my best friends give the keynote address and make history, it's just unbelievable. And I'm very, very proud and I want to support him.”

Ozuna, who joined the council by appointment earlier this year, said she decided to attend because of the twofold importance of Castro's appearance.

“I'm going because I'm so thrilled that my city is on the national stage,” she said. “I'm going because I really believe in the potential and promise in the mayor being able to serve his city out on the national stage.”

In fact, so many people from City Hall will be at the DNC that the Wednesday briefing meeting in which the council was originally slated to discuss the budgets of several city departments was canceled. Those briefings were rescheduled for other times. The out-of-town council members, however, plan to return in time for Thursday's meeting — which will be held without the mayor.

Others weren't able to make the trip, but that's not going to stop them from enjoying Castro's introduction on the national political stage. Lopez, the District 6 councilman, said plans are in the works for a watch party, and other politicos may have one, too.

“We're incredibly proud of our mayor,” Lopez said Sunday as he was planning a local viewing of the speech. “We want to share the moment.”